Samsung Galaxy S10 5G: How quick is the new 25W fast charge?

Samsung have just launched new 25W fast-charging technology for the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G that should radically improve charge speeds.

SamMobile recently put the new fast-charge through its paces on the Samsung Galaxy A70, which also features the same new charging specification as the Galaxy S10 5G. Starting with just 3% juice left in the tank, they directly compared the difference between the Galaxy A70 on the new 25W charger and the old-specification 15W charger after 30 minutes, 45 minutes, and 60 minutes. They also included the Galaxy S10 Plus for a direct comparison. Their full results can be seen in the below image.

As you can see, the results aren’t quite as impressive as you might have expected. The Galaxy A70’s 4500mAh battery charged faster on the new charger, especially in the first 30 minutes, with an edge of 7% over its 15W rival which is again replicated in the final 60-minute comparison, despite almost converging after 45 minutes of charge.

This is of course still a welcome change, and will come in handy if you are leaving the house but suddenly realise your phone’s charge is alarmingly low. But with a difference of 10W in power between the two technologies, we were hoping a bigger difference in charging speed.

The Galaxy S10 Plus charged almost with almost identical speed to the Galaxy A80, despite only being capable of 15W charging, but you do have to bear in mind that the battery is a bit smaller (4100mAh rather than 4500mAh).

Strangely, the upgrade to 25W charging has skipped over the other models in the Galaxy S10 series (including the Galaxy S10e and the Galaxy S10 Plus), so we won’t know how an S10 deals with the new charger until the 5G version is released. We are still awaiting the official UK release date, but it is confirmed to launch on April 5 in South Korea, and April 11 in the United States.

Are you impressed with Samsung’s new 25W fast-charge? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews

Why we’re different

Unlike other sites, we thoroughly review everything we recommend. We use industry standard tests to evaluate products in order to assess them properly. We’ll always tell you what we find.
Tell us what you think - send your emails to the Editor.